Things I should know before visiting/moving to England...?

Question

I want to visit England in the next couple of summers and then I plan to move there for college. Is there anything I should know about England before I go there? Anything that is really different from America? Thanks.

Answer 1

as a english man lol, we have much colder wheather, we dont have pancake shops and lots of breakfast places. we have smaller cars and everythign does normally cost alot more

Answer 2

I mostly agree with 'forget' except to say that the further north you go the more normal it is to engage in coverstions with  stranger ! My brother moved back to his native Scotland after years in London and said it tooka while to get used to complete strangers talking to him at bus stops, on trains, in shops!

The driving is of course on the left and roads seem busier and drivers are definitely faster than USA with it common for people to drive at over 90mph on the motorways.

Answer 3

The first answerer is pretty much spot on actually... just to add to what he said about London being as crime ridden as New York, this year so far they have been over 15 teenagers killed by stabbings... these only occur in the rougher parts of London where the gang & knife culture is rife (mainly in east London)... i don't want to scaremonger or anything because there are also many good sides to England and London especially... London is really a melting pot of different races and cultures which i think is what makes it so interesting and worth seeing

The people of England are very talented at complaining and moaning about the bad stuff (trust me, they really are lol) but they often take for granted how privileged we are. I don't know if it's as bad in the US, but everyone also likes to slag off the Government and criticize EVERYTHING about how they run the country etc. .... basically there's no pleasing us Brits lol When i watch the news and isee Obama and John McCain campaigning around the US for presidency i can't believe how patriotic and passionate the Americans are about their government, like waving banners around and cheering every 2 minutes lol but anyways in England when a new Prime Minister is voted in it's nothing like that and an altogether much more civilized affair

We're not half as posh and snotty as the American stereotype will have you believe.... in fact i think there is an underclass in Britain which is even worse than any American, the sort that leave school with no prospects, no plans of getting a job, teenage pregnancies, living in council estates (a cut-down milder version of a ghetto lol), causing trouble and vandalism, pestering the local community etc.. Basically their behaviour and attitude is characterized by the term 'chav'  which i think you might wanna look up lol... but if your a tourist and just skimming over the  surface of England i'll doubt you'll ever need to know about these really

If you need any questions answered you can ask me whenever by email :) please do!

It's kind of hard describing your own country... but the spotlight will soon be on us with London 2012 fast approaching, so i'm sure you'll learn a lot about England

EDIT: WTF _American in Switzerland_ talks the biggest heap of c**p i've ever heard

Answer 4

All depends where you go. In general, you'll find British people colder and more impersonal than Americans. It is not common practice to engage in casual conversation with a random stranger and anyone who attempts to do so is considered a bit strange. It's just not the done thing over here. You'll also notice that what you complain about in the US as being expensive will be double the price here. You say $4 a gallon is expensive, look forward to paying $10 a gallon here!

The summer weather leaves a lot to be desired, although it's not quite as cold as Americans would like to exagerate, nor does it rain that much. However, British winters are much milder than the average American winter. Also, you'll notice how crowded this country is, we're essentially a small island with a huge population, the population density is crazy, there isn't any vast expances of untouched nature like you could find in America.

Also, although a heated topic of debate, you'll notice, much like America that there are lots of communities of people who are unassimilated and basically recreate their own country in Britian, without any regard for the British. I'll probably be called racist, but it is a growing problem in the UK.

You might have been told the UK is safe? Well, per capita, crime in the UK is just as high as the US, and London is probably more dangerous than New York. Just to get things into perspective. The UK is a melting pot of people just like the US and it has all the social problems that comes with it.

Also, you'll see a lot less patriorism in the UK than you might be used to in the US. No one here is proud to be British and any pride and nationalism is viewed by many as racist. There are a lot if narrow-minded, liberal idiots in this country, h**l, the Prime Minister is one.

There are some good points about living in the UK, but it sounds like it would be better telling you the main bad ones.

Answer 5

i totally agree with the first answer.

i lived there for a couple of years (i'm american) and i'm 15 right now, but when i was there i was like 8-11. but anyways, even at a young age i realized how much people hate americans there. they loveeeeee to talk about america, and bash america like its their favorite thing to do. i used to be called racist just because i was american!  BBC channel is.... well.... you can tell they don't like americans either. and they're not afraid to show it.

my family was hit quite hard with that kinda stuff. and its not like we were living in the ghetto. we were in a nice, posh area. and that stuff still happened. but i've lived in 4 different countries, and currently i live in switzerland. i've noticed you find that everywhere in europe. at school i've learnt that i need to take a stand and tell them to stuff it or else they won't stop.

its gotten to the point where i've even heard ADULT teachers make rude comments. some of the worrst comments i've heard were about 9/11 and about how it was "funny".

and its stupid because then they go and watch the american movies, buy the american clothes, listen to american music on their AMERICAN ipods. then they all brag about how they're going to america on vacation.

:/

now don't think i'm bashing europe.i love europe! i just wanna give you a heads up. i've lived in europe more than i have in america, and i would give anything to be back! :)

just don't forget to bring your favorite american candy, because i sure miss that!

oh and it does rain a heck of a lot. friggg, my mom cried for hours when we moved theree! but we did like it after we moved :)

god bless!

Answer 6

Some of these answers are terrible and totally untrue.That pride thing makes no sense , loads of people are proud to be British, they just don't shove it down people's throats.

OK a few things you may need to know;

Tax is already included in the price.

The word 'f***y' refers to something pretty rude.

In general things are usually pretty smaller here, because we are all midgets. OK, no, but they are smaller quantities. Like smaller crisp packets and stuff.

The weather is pretty dismal, and has been worsening a LOT over the years. Summer practically doesn't exist anymore.

There's that general theory that Americans don't understand British humor. So watch out for that. We are very sarcastic, and love taking the p**s out of ourselves and other people. You'll see a lot of TV shows dedicated to this.

Oh, and you drive on the left side of the road.

That's all I can think of for now!